Carpenter will be paid $341,000 this academic year to lead the rapidly growing suburban district, which raised its offer after his previous employer, the College of Southern Nevada, upped the ante to keep him.

The contract, which makes Carpenter one of the highest-paid community college leaders in the nation, reflects the steady climb of salaries for chief executives in academia.

Nationally, the number of experienced public university presidents earning at least $500,000 nearly doubled over the past year, while the median pay package reached $374,846, up 4 percent from a year ago, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

"It's the same thing that's driving executive salaries elsewhere: supply and demand," said Norma Kent, a vice president for the American Association of Community Colleges. "We're seeing a rapid turnover of CEOs. Richard is a seasoned CEO with a successful track record."

The right price

The North Harris Montgomery district will pay Carpenter a base salary of $310,000, plus $31,000 in retirement pay, in the first year of a three-year contract finalized last week. Carpenter, who is scheduled to start his new job Aug. 1, also will be eligible for raises at any time.

By comparison, retiring Chancellor John Pickelman receives a base salary of $256,399 a year, which district officials said is below market value. HCC's new chancellor, Mary Spangler, earns $308,300 a year, including monthly housing and car allowances.

"Any time you're trying to hire somebody, you have to be competitive," Trustee John Fox said of Carpenter's contract. "Fortunately, we were able to get him for that price."

Trustees said they chose Carpenter, 53, over two internal candidates because of his experience. The former high school band director has led community colleges in six states.

The College of Southern Nevada, which has 35,000 students on three campuses around Las Vegas, is facing growing pains similar to those of the North Harris Montgomery district, which has seen enrollment nearly triple to 40,000 students on five campuses during Pickelman's 16-year tenure.

Enrollment is projected to surpass 60,000 students by 2015 for the district, which covers a 1,400-square-mile swath from Cypress-Fairbanks to Humble to north of Conroe.

A tug-of-war

Carpenter weathered several challenges at the
Las Vegas college
, which has had seven presidents in the past 12 years and wrestled with allegations of cronyism and nepotism three years ago. He eliminated administrative jobs, closed money-losing departments and aligned new work force programs with local industry's needs.

Carpenter initially turned down an offer of $320,000 a year from the North Harris Montgomery district. Nevada officials countered with a $50,000 raise that would have brought his annual pay to $336,000, but it wasn't enough to keep him.

Amid the tug-of-war, Carpenter denied accusations he leveraged the institutions against each other for a better pay package. He could not be reached for comment Monday.

The tuition question

Randy Bates
, chairman of the North Harris Montgomery district's board, said the Las Vegas counteroffer played no role in the negotiations.

"I made it very clear from the beginning that we would not be involved in any bidding war, and we weren't persuaded by anything they did," Bates said. "The district wanted to get the best person in the country, and we knew that wouldn't be inexpensive."

But Bill Simcik, president of the faculty senate at Tomball College, one of the district's campuses, wondered whether Carpenter's contract could lead to escalation of other administrators' salaries.

"It's a dangerous situation, in terms of allocating that much for salaries when students are hard-pressed to afford tuition," Simcik said. "Some people think we need someone dynamic like Dr. Carpenter to build the community college of the 21st century. But what good is that college if no one can afford it?"